21 Years Old...

[huntaholic123]

Saw one of Trumps infamous tweets about pushing the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21. Am I the only one who is bewildered by our leaderships emotional based decision making? I'm all for mental health reform and cracking down on offenders, but what is raising the age limit going to prevent? Don't mean to get political but it is frustrating trying to find logic on this topic unfortunately.

 

[Fitzwho]

I can see where it could “help”. Just purely to provide a period of time for these week minded high schoolers to have a little time to cool off before they can just run to Walmart and pick up a gun and head straight back. Gives some parents the ability to at least ask the question of why they would need it. A Walmart that sold guns was literally across the street from my high school.

There would be plenty of ways around it. There’s going to have to be some give on gun control (not all out bans), or we’ll all have to learn how to use bows again to hunt.

Every time I see that anti-2nd amendment video of the guy shooting an office up with a musket, I can’t help but think that if you are going to start messing with the 2nd because of how technology has changed, you should probably start looking at the first amendment again. Something like 3400 teenagers attempt suicide in the US per day. I would guess the vast majority of those are prompted by “free speech” bullying on social media.

 

[dotman]

Truthfully I think 21 is a good age, you can’t buy a pistol or drink until that age anyway.

 

[Fitzwho]

On another note. I think some of these kids may just need a drink. So maybe we should switch the drinking age to 18 and the voting/Gun buying age to 21.

 

[StickSlingers]

I’m not a fan of anything gun control, that being said i do believe this shooting up school thing is purely generational and caused by the disconnection from reality that technology has caused. I’m 24 years old and i know it would knock some good ol boys under the age of 21 off the list for buying a a new rifle, but i would support bumping it to 21 with all the **** tards out there. As long as they make the exception for military members or LEO under the age of 21. No reason you can be old enough to serve and not old enough to buy a firearm. That’s just bullshit


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[Vegeman]

I think the system here in New Zealand is a good one. You can get a firearm at 16, BUT, in order to get a firearm in this country, you've got to sit a written test, prove you've got a safe space to store the firearm, and (the most important part in my opinion), your family is interviewed by a vetting officer, along with someone who knows you but is outside of your immediate family.

This system ensures that anyone who is truly passionate/serious about shooting can still purchase their own gear (even at a young age), but because people in their social circles are consulted beforehand, it gives the police a clear picture as to what the applicants' mental health history has been like. A background check isn't enough (regardless of someone's age), because it does not prove anything about the individuals' subtle personality traits.

Maturity and mental health can not always be determined by somebody's age. There are plenty of young people who deserve to own firearms - and, on the contrary, many adults who do not.

I think any new system in the USA should tackle the elephant in the room (mental health) rather than handicapping law abiding young people.

 

[HookUp]

18 year old's handle AR-15's ever day in the military. They are supervised, well trained and have armories to store their weapons. Average disgruntled 18 year old should not be buying AR-15's from the local hardware store. We all know parenting is at an all time low, with most parents living busy lives ignoring their children. The 18 year old's of today are not as responsible as past generations and there needs to be a barrier.

If you don't get an emotional reaction when 17 children are gunned down in cold blood there is something wrong. There is a mental health problem in this country that is soothing itself through innocent blood. Something needs to be done.

 

[Huntindog45]

I am good with it. I am also good with far more stringent background checks and some tighter criteria for gun purchases. And I will say it. I am fine with magazine bans. I am even good with 5 shot limit. I know it is a tough pill to swallow but everything about our world has changed. Frankly the gun culture scares me. I think of a gun as a tool for my hunting. Sure I could protect myself as needed. The ultra crazy paranoid with guns scare me far more than anything. I have kids, my wife is a principal at a school in a shitty area. I am glad that here in California it is at least not easy for a whack job to get a gun. I know this won’t be popular but it is what it is. I just don’t see the need for it to be easy for complete nut jobs to buy this kind of fire power. Nothing is the same. It never will be again. Too many people seem to think using a gun is the answer to the problem of the moment. That is scary.


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[BGbowhunters]

I understand what they're trying to do with moving the age to 21 y/o, it's not a bad idea but I don't think it would change anything; its not like people who want to kill people are less likely to do so when they turn 21 compared to 18. The US just needs to adopt a gun system like Canada or New Zealand which as a more rigorous background check which has led to a much smaller death by firearm per 100,000 compared to the US. Although Republican congressmen are too afraid to bring up this proposal because they are scared that pro-2nd Amendment interest groups will pull their funding for them, and Democratic congressmen are too concerned with banning all guns.

 

[semperfidelis97]

Just for the record no one in the military carries an AR-15. This is a false narrative propagated by the media. The M-4, and the M-16 may look like an AR, but they are not the same. Maybe instead of blaming a scary looking inanimate object we should be blaming ourselves. We have raised a generation of self absorbed, apathetic little Kardashians. This generation has more respect for how many followers one may have on instagram more than the basic values that made this country great.

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[adamm88]

I could understand that raising the 21 age limit for buy a semi auto gun wouldnt be a bad idea or having some kind of test someone has to take to get a id wouldnt be a bad idea but implementing and inforcing would be a issue.

Most of my hunting rifles were bought with my money prior till i was 18, actually i think all of them other than 1 are not in my name.

May it have prevent the florida shooting maybe but i belive mental health has and stable family home has more to do with it, reporting people and follow though has alot to do with it, family raising entiltled pansies has the most to do with it. I dont know the solution but i dont think taking guns away is the solution.

 

[Bowhunter65]

So our sons and daughters can join the armed forces and have to handle weapons there but they can't but a gun until they are 21 is complete horsecrap. I moved out of my parents home when I was 18 and had my own home when I turned 20, payed my bills and worked my butt off. my kids have been raised that way also.

The mental health issue is the only way we solve this problem. What when the next knut job is 22 years old or older.

 

[bmart2622]

Big difference between having a gun in the military and a random 18 yr old civilian having a gun.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Might not be a bad idea. Do you want some kid that just turned 18 going to buy an AR-15 after eating a handful of Tide Pods on YouTube? Maybe consider raising the age to 21, however if they choose to own a firearm before then, they could join the Military. Some good "old time" discipline could be instilled in addition to the proper training of handling a firearm. It seems this younger generation doesn't have the maturity to handle life and death decisions, other than what they learned on X-box. Which brings me to another point, all of the producers of these X-Box "shoot em ups" are the ones screaming the loudest about gun control. Seems a little hypocritical to me.

***edited to add: Studies show that 30 to 40 teenagers are killed daily while "Texting while driving". Maybe we should raise the age to owning a cellphone/smartphone to 21 too.

 

[Jbehredt]

Big difference between having a gun in the military and a random 18 yr old civilian having a gun.

No not really. A couple weeks into boot camp you line up at the armory and they hand you an M16. Mostly random 18 year olds in that line.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

I don't like it on the simple fact that we are waving the white flag as it pertains to raising our youth. If you aren't ready for the responsibility to handle a firearm by the time you are 18 you have failed or have been failed by your parents. This is unacceptable for us to continue to push off responsibility due to age. Do you think there aren't lunatics over the age of 21? Why have people been able to handle themselves around these guns for decades without this kind of issue? The age isn't the problem.


I don't like the separation between the legal voting age and the age to purchase a firearm. The right to vote holds more weight than the right to purchase a gun.


Is he talking about all firearms or just semi autos?

 

[NDGuy]

It seems this younger generation doesn't have the maturity to handle life and death decisions, other than what they learned on X-box.

While I agree with most of the stuff on this. There is literally no evidence relating video game consumption to increased levels of violence. It has been studied for years. Google it all you want.

 

[NDGuy]

I take zero issue with raising the age limit to 21 for semi auto rifles. Makes complete sense and will make it harder for high school kids to get their hands on them. Doesn't stop kids from getting hunting guns either, win win.

 

[Laelkhunter]

No not really. A couple weeks into boot camp you line up at the armory and they hand you an M16. Mostly random 18 year olds in that line.

I think you just made his point. If they survived a couple of weeks of boot camp, I would feel better handing them an M16 than the kid that just woke up in his Mother's basement, and skipped school (his third year in 12th grade) to go to the gunshop to buy an AR-15.

 

[bmart2622]

No not really. A couple weeks into boot camp you line up at the armory and they hand you an M16. Mostly random 18 year olds in that line.

So there is no supervised training involved? You don't have to prove your proficiency with the weapon? The weapon and ammo isnt stored in a secure place? They just hand you a gun and say "here you go, do what you want with it"?